Federation
The Federation, formerly the Federation of Star Systems, is the oldest of the three major factions in the galaxy, the other two being the Empire and the Alliance. The planet Earth (Sol), birthplace of humankind, is the historic former capital of the Federation and regarded as the centre of human-inhabited space. The Federation loosely lies between the Alliance and the Empire on the galactic map. The Federation's current capital Olympus Village is on planet Mars. The Federation arose from the ashes of the Third World War in the mid 21st century. The war caused tremendous devastation across the planet, decimating the population.The Founding of the Federation - GalNet The Federation is highly dependent on technology and is economically and socially corporatist. In the period of rebuilding after the end of World War 3 on Earth (circa 2044-2055 AD) the corporations became powerful and dominant. In modern times it is the corporations who are the life-blood and backbone of the Federation. It is rumoured that these corporations have such influence and power that they can even direct the Federal government, perhaps even to the point of choosing the President. The current Federal president is Zachary Hudson. Corruption and bribery are not unusual in the Federation and law enforcement has been known to turn a blind eye if the price is right. The relationship between the Federation and the Alliance is one of tolerance. The relationship between the Federation and the Empire is one of deep hostility. History Consolidation on Earth Mankind's first ventures into space were tentative and gradual. The early part of the 21st century saw the first manned spaceflights beyond the moon, but it took major population and economic problems to stimulate enough commercial commitment to start settlements beyond Earth. The Third World War saw this exploration expenditure dragged back again and it wasn't until the very end of the 21st century that colonies on Mars and the Moon became truly permanent and viable. After the war, the dominant power was the United States of the Americas, and as the remaining other countries joined it over the next few decades, it was renamed the Federation of the United States and later "The Federation" as the implied reference to one of the pre-war powers was a block to the remaining countries joining it. It had a constitution and laws derived from the earlier powers, but much simplified.Tourist Spot 0165 beacon near Earth Space colonization Many different factors changed humanity’s outlook after that. The rise of the corporations, the discovery of the first fossils on Mars, and the explosive exploration triggered by the invention of the hyperdrive by Li Qin Jao and others in the 22nd century, first by unmanned probes, then with manned craft, overtaking the generation ships sent in the previous decades. Despite the huge dangers involved, a massive land-grab followed, fuelled by the voracious corporations.The Founding of the Federation - GalNet It wasn’t until some of the ecological excesses of these early colonists became apparent over a century later that Earth took its first steps, founding the Federation and becoming the colossal entity it is now, creating some order in what had become an unruly free-for-all. The Federation Accord In 2242 the Federation Accord was created outlining certain rights and responsibilities for members, uniting many of the new colonies, by force in some cases. After a short conflict the Taylor Colony in Tau Ceti (which had been ignoring Earth's demands to stop killing the native wildlife to near extinction levels over a period of approximately 20 years) became the first signatory outside the Sol system. Sol and Tau Ceti were soon joined by Delta Pavonis, Altair, and Beta Hydri, and these five systems are today regarded as the founding members of the Federation. The name of the Federation was also changed at this time to the "Federation of Star Systems", but the name didn’t stick and quickly returned to just the Federation. From that point the Federation provided a stable framework to facilitate the further expansion of humanity to ever more distant star systems but not all colonies wanted a part of this. A distant early colony, formed by a band of political idealists as far from Earth as they could manage, in the system of Achenar would eventually spark another defining moment for the Federation and indeed humanity as a whole. The Federation has always seen itself as the major power in the galaxy. From the very beginning, long before the Empire or Alliance existed, it took upon itself the task of policing the galaxy and being the peacekeepers. While sometimes not in the best interests of minor factions involved, the decisions made by the Federation are usually made for the benefit of its citizens. Recent events - 3300 on Jasmina Halsey of the Liberal Party was elected President of the Federation in 3300. Her initial popularity quickly faded after she criminalized the narcotic Onion Head in December of that year, and launched short-lived a military campaign against Onion Head growers in the Kappa Fornacis system. Soon after, an independent minor faction seized control of the Federation system of Lugh, prompting Halsey to retaliate and igniting The War for Lugh, which ended in an embarrassing defeat for the Federation. Halsey's reputation took its most dramatic hit when she ordered an attack against an unarmed refugee convoy which the leader of the Lugh rebels was reportedly aboard; almost ten thousand innocent Federal civilians died in the attack, and Halsey's approval rating dropped to 26%. On May 26, 3301, Starship One, personal ship of the Federal President, went missing with Halsey and her Vice President, Ethan Naylor, on board. With Halsey presumed dead, an election was called and on June 2, Shadow President Zachary Hudson of the Republican Party was elected the next President of the Federation. On February 26, 3302, Jasmina Halsey was found alive in an escape pod recovered from the wreckage of Starship One following a search campaign sponsored by President Hudson. Upon being revived weeks later, she claimed that she had encountered super-intelligent beings with a message of peace. Over the subsequent months, Halsey became an international advocate for peace. By 3303, tensions between the Federation and the Empire have become heightened as both superpowers have significantly increased military spending and capital ship construction. Proxy conflicts have broken out in the vicinity of the Pleiades Nebula as Federation and Empire sought to monopolize access to Alien Structures and Meta-Alloys. On June 13, 3303, a Federal fleet was wiped out in an apparent attack by Thargoids. On June 19, President Hudson responded to the attack and discovery that the Thargoids were tied to the recent spate of alien encounters by starship pilots, saying that the Federal military had been expanding in recent months in preparation for a possible conflict with a hostile alien species. The Federation's shift of focus to the Thargoids was demonstrated by the completion of the Blackmount Orbital Asteroid Base in HIP 17692 on July 7, 3303, and the announcement on the same day of a campaign to gather the resources for the construction of a survey outpost in the system to monitor Thargoid activity.Galactic News: New Superpower Bases in the PleiadesCommunity Goal: New Federal Outpost The campaign proved successful and the outpost, Blackmount Habitation, was established on HIP 17962 A 1.Galactic News: Federal Outpost Campaign Concludes Society In this modern age it’s hard for us to imagine that before the Federation, humanity existed on just a single world, bar a few small colonies on Mars and the Moon. Even stranger to our current experience was the fact that so many disparate tribal groupings, or ‘countries’ existed on one world.The Founding of the Federation - GalNet To an outsider, the hierarchy of Federation society is based on democratic principles - people vote within their System/State to elect Congressmen, and a President with an 8-year term and a ‘vote of confidence’ after the first 4 years. However, corporate loyalty oils the machine, and Federation space is a battleground of commerce. Commercial organisations compete as aggressively as the law will allow for the time and attention of the Federal citizen, who goes through life bombarded by advertising. Corruption is not unusual – individuals defend it shamelessly when caught as ‘getting one over the system’. Social class is only determined between ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’. There is a lot of poverty about, as well as conspicuous wealth. The huge gross domestic product (GDP) of the Federation economy funds a large, well-equipped Federal Navy which projects its values and influence. Culturally the Federation is tolerant of some things (like religions) but utterly intolerant of drug-taking, political activism, and certain cultures. A great many things are illegal, like slavery, cloning and certain narcotics. Federal law is based on an agreed Constitution. People have rights and freedoms, enshrined by this agreement. Local ‘State’ law prohibits other trafficking to a greater or lesser degree. Things like ship-based weapons, personal weapons, other milder drugs and alcohol are banned in some systems. The media drives a culture of celebrity. Top ranking politicians, social commentators, entertainers and super-rich all command a great deal of media attention. This provides a massive distraction for the populace, to the extent that foreign wars conducted by the Federation on their behalf get little media attention. This has gone on for many hundreds of years, and there is no sign of it changing.Newsletter #22 Government Leadership The President of the Federation is the elected head of state and head of government of the Federation. Presidents are elected for an eight year term, but face an automatic "vote of no confidence" after four years. If the incumbent President wins the vote, they are allowed to complete their full term, but the incumbent loses the vote, a new Presidential election is called. Presidents select and appoint a Vice President to serve as Acting President in the event that the President is unable to lead. The current Federal President is Zachary Hudson, and his Vice President is Brad Mitchell. When the leader of one of the Federation's two main political parties, the Liberal Party and the Republican Party, is elected President, then the leader of the other party automatically becomes Shadow President. The Shadow President has no authority in the sitting President's administration, but he or she is often at the top of their party's list to run for the Presidency during an election. The current Shadow President is Felicia Winters. Federal Congress Federal Congress is made up of 500 Congressmen (the term for both men and women). They sit in Congress, in Olympus Village on Mars – which replaced its location in Washington DC early in the 3rd millennium. Congressmen are expected to attend in person to vote. Anyone can run for election to Federal Congress. They do not need to be backed by a political party or minor faction, but it helps. There are two major parties: the Liberals and the Republicans. Corporations generally do push (and fund) their chosen candidates or parties (e.g. Hudson), as do other special interest groups. Like the President, Congressmen are elected for an eight year term, with a "vote of no confidence" after four years. If the vote of no confidence succeeds then a full election takes place. A Congressman (or President) cannot serve multiple consecutive terms, though a Congressman can (and often does) become President immediately after a term as a Congressman. Congressmen spend their days representing their constituency. They can also hold other office as part of government – for example chairing committees etc. They are not allowed to have corporate interests that might conflict with their political roles (though quite often some hide them via their friends, spouses etc, and not all get found out). Every Federation system has representation at the Congress, but generally a Congressman represents multiple systems, except a few (like Sol) that have more than one Congressional representative, based loosely on historic population. Phenomenal growth in the outer systems has meant that they have little representation in Congress, and there is frequent discussion about creating many new Congressmen to address this balance, but the various power blocks realise it will change the balance of power away from the core systems, the very people who would have to vote it through – so many agree it is unlikely to happen in the near future. Congressmen do not change when their system's controlling minor faction changes, and serve until their term is up, but their life could become difficult, so they might resign, triggering a local election.Governments and politics in Elite Dangerous by Michael Brookes Key systems * Sol - origin system of humanity, including the species' original homeworld, Earth (Sol 3), and the Federation's current economic and political centre, Mars (Sol 4), with the capitol itself located in the metropolis of Olympus Village. Founding system. * Tau Ceti - Taylor Colony (Tau Ceti 2) was home to the first extraterrestrial biosphere encountered by humanity, and played a central role in the founding of the Federation. More recently, it was the birthplace and childhood home of Shadow President Felicia Winters. Founding system. * Delta Pavonis - Reagan's Legacy (Delta Pavonis 3) was home to the second extraterrestrial biosphere encountered by human explorers, which was at a much earlier stage of development relative to Tau Ceti's. Early human colonization led to its complete extinction, and it has since been terraformed into an arid Earth-like world. Founding system. * Altair - Biggs Colony (Altair 4) is a humid, mostly oceanic Earthlike world, renowned for a striking beautiful and famously dangerous biosphere. It is also the home of Altairian Skin, a beneficial microorganism used to decorate and clean the human body. Founding system. * Beta Hydri - Homeland (Beta Hyrdi 6) was an early human colony and today is one of the most densely-settled Earth-like worlds. Founding system. * Nanomam - key military production system and the personal headquarters of Federal President Zachary Hudson. * Rhea - home to a large agricultural industry based on its twin Earth-like worlds, and a popular tourist destination. Personal headquarters of Shadow President Felicia Winters. * Lembava - home to a number of high tech Federal corporations, and the personal headquarters of Sirius Corporation CEO Li Yong-Rui. Faction information Ranks Faction ships * Farragut Battle Cruiser * Federal Corvette * Federal Gunship * Federal Dropship * Federal Assault Ship * F63 Condor Permits Permits are required to access certain systems that are otherwise locked out by the computer of your Frame Shift Drive (FSD). Such permits are rewarded by the the controlling faction for that locked system, when you become friendly with that faction, by accomplishing missions such as "Federal dispatch" and receiving ranks. You can often find that faction on a station outside the main system they control. Once finished several dispatch quests, simply visit the Bulletin Board at any of the faction's stations to accept a job titled "Federal invitation". Accepting the job automatically adds the permit to your FSD computer. Associated minor factions Trivia *Originally, the Federation government was intended to feature three main political parties: Democrats, Republicans, and Libertarians. By the time Elite Dangerous launched, this had been changed to just two political parties, the Liberals and Republicans. Gallery FederationInsignia.png|Insignia of the Federation Earth-3302-Elite-Dangerous.png|Earth in the year 3302 Federation-Federal-Navy-Fleet-1.png|Federal Navy fleet Federation-Federal-Navy-Fleet-2.png|Federal Navy fleet 2 Mars_Terraformed.jpg|Mars terraformed, 3300 Zachary Hudson.png|President Zachary Hudson Earth Tourist Spot 0165 beacon.png|Tourist Spot 0165 beacon near Earth Elite Dangerous Human City Concept Art.png|Human Megalopolis concept art Elite_Dangerous_-_Epic_History_of_The_Federation See also * Federal key people * Events References Category:Factions Category:Federation Category:Organizations